| Manchester Phoenix Ice Hockey Club | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Altrincham (2007–2015)Deeside,North Wales (2015– 2016),Blackpool (2016–2017),Widnes (2017) |
| League | English Premier Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Folded | 2017 |
| Home arena | Widnes Arena (2017) |
| Colors | White, Black, Red |
| Owner(s) |  Neil Morris |
| General manager | (N/A) – Neil Morris |
| Head coach | Tony Hand, MBE |
| Captain | Luke Boothroyd |
Manchester Phoenix were a semi professionalice hockey team fromGreater Manchester,England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters groupFriends of Manchester Ice Hockey to bring top-level ice hockey back to Manchester afterManchester Storm folded in 2002.
The Phoenix team was a founder member of theElite Ice Hockey League upon its formation in 2003, playing in the 17,500 capacityManchester Arena. The cost of using such a large facility proved financially untenable, and Phoenix suspended playing operations in 2004 pending the construction of a smaller purpose built ice facility. Construction of theAltrincham Ice Dome commenced in 2006, and the club returned to the Elite League for the 2006–07 season. After three seasons in the EIHL, the club joined theEnglish Premier Ice Hockey League on 30 April 2009.
During their time in EPIHL, the club was fairly successful, having won two league championships and one playoff final, with multiple appearances at the playoff finals weekend.
In 2015, the club was left without a home rink withinGreater Manchester. They played their home games atDeeside Leisure Centre inNorth Wales,Fylde Coast Ice Arena inBlackpool, and finally atWidnes Ice Arena.
The club folded on 31 January 2017 after an unsuccessful meeting with potential investors.[1]
In 2002, theManchester Storm, once the best-supported Ice Hockey club inEurope, ran into serious financial trouble and was folded. Initially fans protested against SMG, the company who owned the Manchester Evening News Arena as it was perceived that troubles had arisen due to SMG's disinterest in continuing to house the Storm at the Manchester Evening News Arena. This soon turned into a rally in support of the team and a supporters group known as 'The Friends of Manchester Storm' was established after Gary Cowan, the owner of the Storm officially announced he was finalising the organisation's operations due to unsustainable debts.[2] Once it became clear that the Storm were not to return, FOMS changed their name, becoming the 'Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey', or 'FOMIH'.[3]
This group had two established aims, namely to bring top level professional ice hockey back to Manchester and to ensure the creation of a new ice rink facility in the region. In 2003, a club was formed and with fans choosing to symbolically title the team the 'Manchester Phoenix', rising from the ashes of the Storm.
The newly formed Manchester Phoenix would be one of the founding members of theBritish Elite Ice Hockey League and played out of theMEN Arena for their inaugural season. Under player-coachRick Brebant, and later Paul Heavey, the team finished sixth out of eight in the league, the final qualifying place for the playoffs. Phoenix finished second in their Playoff group ahead of theBelfast Giants, qualifying for the semi-final, where they were beaten 6–1 by theNottingham Panthers.[4]
Despite an impressive beginning, with 3,600 turning out for the first home game against theLondon Racers, crowds would not be consistent and it soon became apparent that ice hockey at the busiest indoor venue in Europe would no longer be viable with the season's average attendance being just 2,150 per game, falling far short of the rumoured number of 3,000 needed to cover costs. As a result, the Phoenix temporarily suspended playing operations at the end of the 2003–04 season.[5]
In May 2004 the Phoenix announced that they had the funding to construct a new temporary ice rink but problems arose as to exactly where to locate the facility. As a result, the deadline for inclusion in the EIHL passed, and the Phoenix withdrew from the 2004–05 season. The club had still not managed to build a new venue by the following year, and announced that the Phoenix would not be part of the 2005–06 season either.[6] In November 2005, the club announced details of a new rink to be built in partnership with Nikal, David McLean and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. The new rink would seat 2,026, with 24 wheelchair spaces, and standing for approx 4–500.[7] Planning permission for the rink was finally granted in early January 2006 and construction began on 30 March, with the rink to be sited in Altrincham.[8]
With progress being made, the Phoenix confirmed their inclusion in the EIHL once again, for the 2006–07 season with the Ice Dome scheduled to host its first game on 24 September 2006. The Phoenix also announced the appointment ofTony Hand as player/head coach. This was regarded as a huge step forward for the organisation, as Hand is regarded by many as the greatest British ice hockey player of all time. Unfortunately for Hand and the team, unexpected delays followed and so in the interim Phoenix home games were held at eitherIceSheffield orDeeside Leisure Centre. After further construction and two further missed completion dates, the rink eventually opened with a reduced capacity of 1,000 on 25 February 2007, with Phoenix playing host to theBasingstoke Bison.[9] It was the first time professional hockey had been played in Manchester for almost three years. The remaining 700 seats were installed over the following months, with the Dome completely ready for the beginning of the 2007–08 season.
For further information, please see2006–07 Manchester Phoenix season.
On the weekend of the 2015 playoff finals, it was announced by Silver Blades that they were unable to reach agreement with the Club to renew the ice time agreement despite an offer of reduced rental costs. Further details were given on the 8th April.[10] Manchester Phoenix issued a statement refuting the allegations made of unpaid rental costs.[11]
As a result of this, the club left themselves homeless, but with plans to build a new arena in Manchester City Centre.[12] While this was being prepared however, it was announced that the club would play in Deeside for the 2015-2016 season.[13]
In June 2016, it was announced that Manchester Phoenix would move to Eastlands for the 2016/2017 season.[14] However unrealistic time scales and planning delays meant that this rink was not able to be started in time for the season. Instead, the club chose to play from the Fylde Ice Arena, Blackpool.[15]
Again the proposed timescales proved unachievable and, the new rink was not able to be even started in time for January 2017, making the business model of playing from Blackpool unviable. As a result, the club was forced to release its imported playing staff and move to Silver Blades Widnes.[16] This added pressure, and the unlikely prospect of the club being able to fund a permanent home in Manchester, meant that the club was forced to fold halfway through the 2016/17 season.[17]
Form continued to be hard to find for the Phoenix though. Despite scoring significant numbers of goals, the Phoenix defence proved to be anything but watertight and high scoring games became a regular occurrence. Manchester closed the regular season on 23 April with a 6–2 away loss to theHull Stingrays, finishing 7th in the EIHL. This was perceived by many fans to be somewhat of an underachievement by the organisation.
The Phoenix's seventh-placed finish ensured a post-season matchup with their fiercest rivals, theSheffield Steelers. Again two high scoring games would follow; the Phoenix lost 5–4 in Sheffield, ensuring a tense return leg at the Ice Dome. Despite scoring four goals, the Phoenix defence again proved to be a problem, with the game ending 4–4 in front of a sell out crowd of 2150. The draw meant that the Phoenix exited the playoffs in the first round for the second year in a row.[18]
For a game-by-game log, see2008–09 Manchester Phoenix Season
The team finished the season in 3rd place,[19] and qualified for the EPL post season play-offs. They defeated the Peterborough Phantons 6–5 on aggregate in the quarter-finals[20] to progress to the finals weekend in Coventry, where they were defeated in their semi final by the Slough Jets.[21]
On 27 March 2011, Manchester Phoenix playedSwindon Wildcats at home on the last day of the season. Going into the game, Manchester Phoenix needed a single point to secure the league title. They beat Swindon 5–2 picking up two points and therefore were crowned league champions, earning the club's first major trophy.[22]
Despite losing player/coach Tony Hand to a serious injury,[23] the club managed to remain competitive and finished a creditable 2nd in the league. The Club subsequently qualified for the play off finals weekend, where they defeated local rivals theSheffield Steeldogs in the semi-final, before losing to theSlough Jets in the final game[24]
The Phoenix finished the season 3rd in the league, and also reached the Cup semi finals, losing toGuildford Flames. However, in the end of season play off finals, the club took their revenge beating Guildford 5–2 and emerged victorious, claiming their first play off title in the process.[25]
On 16 March 2014 Manchester Phoenix won their second league title after beating close rivals Basingstoke Bison 5–2. The Phoenix had been in contention for the title throughout the season, but only clinched the title with 1 round of fixtures remaining. The club proceeded to qualify for the Play Off Finals weekend, where they were unable to defend their Play Off title, finishing as runner up.
On 3 April 2015, the eve of the 2015 playoff finals weekend, it was announced that Red Hockey UK purchased 34% of the Phoenix's shares, Red Hockey UK already owned the Bracknell Bees (49% of shares) and Telford Tigers (100%). The owners announced that they would be leaving Altrincham, moving the club to a new rink in central Manchester.
It was also during this weekend that Silver Blades made the announcement that their proposal concerning the renewal of the ice time agreement could not be agreed with the club despite the offer of reduced rental costs,[26] which left the club playing all their "home" games in Deeside, North Wales, Blackpool, and Widnes during the following 2 seasons.
These figures does not include the 2016-2017 season where all Manchester Phoenix results were scrubbed due to the club folding mid season.
Regular Season Games Played: 648
Regular Season Games Won: 325
Regular Season Win Percentage: .590
Regular Season Goals Scored:2,220
Regular Season Goals Against: 1,953
The club attracted a significantly lower set of attendance figures than theManchester Storm did. During the team's first season, the average attendance for all home league fixtures was given as 2,267,[27] in a 17,245-seat arena (although only 4,500 of the lower bowl seats were made available for public use during games. This comprised the seating blocks along the sides of the ice, with those behind the goals being inaccessible). When the move to Altrincham was completed, the attendance averaged 800,[28] climbing to 1,027 in the 09–10 season.[29] This made the club the third-best attended club in the EPIHL, behind the Guildford Flames and Milton Keynes Lightning, and the ninth overall inGreat Britain.[30]
Appearances: Luke Boothroyd: 442 appearances. (2008–2017)[31]
Points (Overall):Tony Hand: 655 (2006–present)[31]
Points (Season):Tony Hand: 133 during regular season (2010–11)[32]
Goals (Season):Marcus Kristoffersson: 62 regular season (2010–11 season)[32]
Attendance Single Game (MEN Arena): 3,600 (estimate), Vs. London Racers, 14 September 2003[33]
Attendance Single Game (Altrincham): 2,100 (estimate), Vs. Basingstoke Bison, Sunday 3 March 2013,[34] Vs. Peterborough Phantoms, Saturday 8 March 2013[35]
Games between shut-outs: 212, between 15 March 2008 (2–0 loss toCardiff Devils) to 30 October 2011 (3–0 loss toBasingstoke Bison).[36] (details taken from club's official results database)
Tony Hand – Jersey retired for exceptional service to Manchester Phoenix.
Dwight Parrish – Jersey retired for services to ice hockey in Manchester.Individuals who have been appointed head coach of the Manchester Phoenix:
Players who have captained the Manchester Phoenix:
George Awada
Scott BasiukKenton SmithLuke BoothroydPlayers who have featured for both the Manchester Phoenix and the Manchester Storm (original and current teams bearing the name) in league fixtures:
Mark BultjeMike MorinDwight ParrishAlan HoughJeff SebastianNick PooleRick BrebantCiaran LongJake NursePhillip SpanswickDeclan RyanJared DickinsonPlayers who have played for the Manchester Phoenix who have been selected in NHL entry drafts:
| NHL Draftees | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Draft Position | Draft Year | Draft Team | |
| F | | Tony Hand | 252nd | 1986 | Edmonton Oilers |
| RW | | Ed Courtenay | 5th | 1991 Exp | San Jose Sharks |
| D | | Jeff Sebastian | 115th | 1991 | Winnipeg Jets |
| LW | | Andre Payette | 244th | 1994 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| LW | | David Beauregard | 271st | 1994 | San Jose Sharks |
| G | | Scott Fankhouser | 276th | 1994 | St. Louis Blues |
| D | | Mike Lankshear | 66th | 1996 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| LW | | K.C. Timmons | 141st | 1998 | Colorado Avalanche |
| LW | | Brett Clouthier | 50th | 1999 | New Jersey Devils |
| D | | Jeff MacMillan | 215th | 1999 | Dallas Stars |
| C | | Brian Passmore | 199th | 2000 | Minnesota Wild |
| RW | | Kyle Bruce | 231st | 2001 | Florida Panthers |
| C | | Grant Jacobsen | 270th | 2001 | St. Louis Blues |
| D |  | Radoslav Hecl | 208th | 2002 | Buffalo Sabres |
| RW |  | Marcus Kristoffersson | 105th | 1997 | Dallas Stars |
| D |  | Robert Schnabel | 79th – 1997 129th – 1998 | 1997 | New York Islanders |
| C | | Robin Kovář | 123rd | 2002 | Edmonton Oilers |